Among Friends
by Zachana16
Summary: Time and reality are just words, there is no barrier to change one from the other. Old friends and new align, brought together by mysterious circumstances to defeat a war centuries in the making. Mixes several of the Transformers universes.
1. Message Recieved

Among Friends

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, Beast Wars, or any of the characters affiliated with either series. Only the Autobot Vapor is of my creation. This is my first attempt at writing Transformers fan fiction, so please only constructive criticism. Many thanks go out to my wonderful new beta Blackwing.Rose for her help. She's got a wonderful Transformers story called How We Seared the Sky, which is a must read for all you fans out there. Thank you and please enjoy.

Chapter 1: Message Received

"_I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any survivors of my kind  
who may be taking refuge among other systems, other stars. You are not alone.  
You have a home here, among others of your kind. We are waiting."_

The voice was as welcome to the pair as energon in an empty tank. It had been  
so long since they had heard a friendly voice of any sort, let alone a message  
from the leader of their faction. Both of them had feared that they were the  
last of their squad still functioning, seeing as the Tripredacus Council had  
ordered an all-out attack on every single Autobot and Maximal they came across  
- it was this that had forced them off the planet, fleeing for their very  
lives. At first there had been a team of twelve traveling together, each of  
them bringing something different to the group.

As time went on, however, their numbers slowly dwindled until there were just  
five of them left. At their last encounter with the special Predacon operative  
unit, their faction was separated into two groups, with each group going in a  
different direction. With an ordered communications blackout they had no way  
of knowing what had happened to their comrades, or even if any of them were  
still online.

"Did you get all of that, Vapor? I thought Prime was dead," a soft,  
decidedly feminine voice said.

"As we all did, partner. As we all did," the other warrior replied,  
continuing to move forward as they shifted their trajectory to bring them to  
Prime's position. "If it is truly him, then this war may well turn back to  
our favor. If not, then Primus help us all."

There was silence as Vapor continued adjusting his trajectory so that they  
would be en route to where their esteemed leader's communication had come  
from. He considered himself lucky that he had been able to get his scanners on  
an alternate form from Earth - he had been too vulnerable as a protoform,  
even with his double-barreled cannons. Although it had to look strange... an  
F/A-16 Hornet flying free in space with nothing else in sight.

It was a long time before the second of the two, decidedly smaller and  
sitting still in the air-pressurized cockpit of her companion's alternate  
form, spoke up again. "These co-ordinates have us aimed back to Earth. If we  
really have allies there, then they may have been spared from the worst of  
this war."

"Let's hope so... I really need maintenance. That last attack nearly  
offlined me permanently - and then where would you have been?" he teased  
lightly, hoping to lighten the permanently somber mood that they had around  
them.

"One dead little femme," she teased back, leaning further back into her  
seat. Her helmet was on snugly despite the fact that the cabin was  
pressurized, and instead of a flight suit, she wore was appeared to be an  
adapted space suit - a less bulky one to accommodate her partner's less than  
spacious interior.

(Three Days Later)

"Are we in communications range?" Vapor asked the one in his cockpit,  
moving easily to one side as he made to break orbit and head in towards the  
message's origin.

They had been on the move constantly since they had first heard those  
Primus-blessed words, wanting to be back in friendly territory before their  
Predacon pursuers caught up with them. Long-range communications had been  
knocked out in one of their last encounters, meaning that they had to be  
within a hundred Earth miles of the location before they would even hear them  
calling.

"That is an affirmative, my friend. Call Prime."

"Right," he started, pushing his damaged communicator as far as it would  
go before opening the channel. "Optimus Prime, I am Vapor, an Autobot.  
Request co-ordinates and permission to come planet side."

The response came quickly, startling both of the two companions. The voice  
was a little different from the Optimus the two of them knew, but it wasn't  
so off that it made too much of a difference. "Permission granted, soldier -  
and good to have you."

He shut off the communication, turning his sensors inwards to speak with his  
partner. "Well, that was him, alright. Never thought we'd see the day when  
Prime would return from the dead. I thought Megatron killed him."

"Guess his death was over-" She stopped, tapping the panel in front of  
her to get her partner's attention. "Predacon bogies coming up fast to our  
port side. Evasive maneuvers!"

"I know, I know!" Vapor shot back, veering hard to the right to evade the  
onslaught of fire from the five bot team. He opened the channel back to  
Optimus, sending out a distress call. "Vapor to Prime, can you read me? We  
have five hostiles on our tails and we are comin' in hot! I repeat, we are  
comin' in- _**AUG**_!"

The other member of the team finally got the comm back, and finished the  
relay. "Vapor is offline, requesting immediate backup. Prepare yourselves,  
we are coming in hot," she finished calmly, grabbing hold of the controls in  
front of her and steering herself and her now unconscious partner down through  
the atmosphere. She'd had to override his autopilot to get control, but it  
was either that or be destroyed.

"We'll cover you, soldier. Hold on, we're on our way," came the  
rushed voice of Optimus Prime.

She would have to hold out... have to keep them both alive long enough for  
the Autobots to reach them. She would rather die than have the Predacons take  
them as prisoners. Primus only knew what they did to their prisoners. It was  
like what she and Vapor had always gone by, their motto for most everything  
they did.

_Live free, fight free. Fly free, die free._

* * *

That's it.  
I would appreciate any help on jet terminology.  
The female member of this team will be introduced next chapter.  
Please Read and Review.


	2. Not Our War

Among Friends

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, Beast Wars, or any of the characters affiliated with either series. Only the Autobot Vapor is of my creation. This is my first attempt at writing Transformers fan fiction, so please only constructive criticism. Many thanks go out to my wonderful new beta Blackwing.Rose for her help. She's got a wonderful Transformers story called How We Seared the Sky, which is a must read for all you fans out there. Thank you and please enjoy.

Chapter Two: Not Our War

(Optimus)

Two new arrivals. Two more soldiers to put into this war they were fighting.  
Even though Megatron was dead, there was still fighting.

Barricade and Starscream were still unaccounted for, and he had no doubt that  
one of them would send for reinforcements. Even still, these two would be the  
first Autobots they had seen since they had come there. He had begun to fear  
that the others were destroyed, or else too far away to care. It was something  
to consider, but with the first of what he hoped to be many new arrivals,  
Optimus had regained some of his hope for his people that were still wandering  
in the cosmos.

He was still pondering over things when the first distress signal hit his  
sensors. "Vapor to Prime, can you read me? We have five hostiles on our  
tails and we are comin' in hot! I repeat, we are comin' in- _**AUG**_!"

The second soldier spoke a moment later, and the calm in his voice surprised  
the big Autobot. Given the situation - overpowered and under fire - most would  
be at least slightly panicked. Yet his voice remained even, almost sounding  
like he was reciting some basic fact. "Vapor is offline, requesting  
immediate backup. Prepare yourselves, we are coming in hot."

"We'll cover you, soldier. Hold on, we're on our way."

Optimus hit the door at a run, knowing they would have to figure out what  
heading the fleeing Autobots were coming in on so that they could intercept  
well before the Decepticons made a pass at them again. He transformed into his  
alternate form, still going at top speed, sending out clipped orders to his  
men as he finally got their trajectory and peeled out of the base.

"Ratchet, Ironhide, you're with me! Bumblebee, stay here and look after  
the children! Autobots, roll out!"

He knew his men would follow him, and he knew that Bumblebee would secure Sam  
and Mikeala here at base and make sure they were safe in case the fight came  
home with them. It was all a matter of getting himself and those going with  
him to a good vantage point before their new arrivals were overtaken by the  
enemy.

They hit the overlook in time to see a pinpoint of color high in the  
atmosphere - it looked like they had made it just in time. He had to  
double-check what he was seeing a moment later when a F-16 jet passed right  
over their heads, blasting away from several Decepticons that were following  
them. He saw the Autobot insignia on their second sweep and shook himself out  
of his shock. "There's one of them," he murmured, holding his hand up to  
give the signal to open fire. "Let's get them down here."

They came down fast, faster than what Vapor would have deemed safe had he  
still been conscious. She did what she had to do, veering his offlined form  
safely away from the incoming fire from their Predacon pursuers. "What a  
time to take a nap, Vapor," she said softly, cursing in several different  
languages when one of the Predacons actually managed to hit Vapor again. She  
knew that the Autobots were in position to help; she had seen them on her  
initial sweep past the outlook they had occupied for this battle. She was  
confused when she didn't see any of the usual air forces alongside Prime,  
whom she recognized right away despite his change in form and paint job. There  
was little time to dwell on this, however, as the Autobots opened fire on the  
flying Predacons.

Wherever Jetfire was, and Primus only knew if the white pain-in-the-aft was  
even still functioning, she sincerely hoped he got there soon. Ground fighters  
were not going to be too much help against fliers. It was like Starscream had  
always told her: fliers had the advantage to ground-bound fighters.

What she perceived to be a GMC Topkick transformed into an Autobot of nearly  
twenty feet tall and set his weapons to blaring. "Talk about serious  
firepower," she murmured, turning Vapor into a slight leftward dip to get  
them both clear of the oncoming fire. She knew what she was doing, even if her  
partner often told her she flew like a Decepticon. Autobot fliers were  
safety-orientated, taking fewer risks and doing everything in their power to  
stay in the air. Decepticons flew with a sort of erratic flight style,  
employing more spins and sharp dives that usually scared the crap out of the  
Autobots. Hence why there were more Decepticon fliers than Autobot.

One of the Predacons came up right behind her and she turned hard again,  
putting the F-16 Autobot into a barrel roll, carefully monitoring their speed  
until she was able to put them to rights again. She kept dropping altitude,  
keeping the dip steady so that they didn't accidentally nose dive right into  
their cavalry.

It took her nearly an hour to get them safely back on the ground; enough time  
for the meager Autobot forces to chase off the Predacons that had followed  
them down. By that time she was more than worn out, having fought for so long  
and so hard that her energy levels were just about non-existent.

As she climbed from the now stirring Vapor's cockpit, she found herself  
surrounded by the Autobots. Prime she recognized, but neither of the other two  
were familiar to her. The large Hummer H2 could have been a reformatted Red  
Alert, but she couldn't be certain, since she hadn't gotten a good look at  
him yet. She knew she had been away from Earth for a long time, but surely not  
so long that all of her friends here were gone? For another thing, why were  
there only three of them coming as reinforcements? There were enough of the  
Autobots on Earth now that at least six or seven should have been here. Was  
their safety of so little importance that they had only sent three people?  
Granted, having Prime show was a compliment, since he was a busy 'bot, but  
still...

She could hear her partner making a fuss behind her, but did not turn back  
around. She went straight up to Optimus and stared up at him, wondering if he  
even remembered her. After all, she had been away for nearly ten years, and  
that did not count the amount of time she had spent with the squad that had  
been making their way here. It was time to introduce themselves, or in her  
case to remove the helmet and give her designation. What better time than the  
present?

* * *

(Optimus)

He was glad to have them both planet side, and glad to see that the damage to  
the larger of the two was not as serious as he had thought. Ratchet was busy  
with the grumbling flier, trying to get him back in enough of a working order  
for him to transform. This left Optimus with the task of greeting their very  
small second arrival.

It was strange to see such a tiny Autobot, but he had seen stranger things.  
After all, he had met Frenzy, and he had been one of the most dangerous  
Decepticons despite his size. Perhaps there was something to be said for being  
given a smaller form. It made it harder to choose an alternate form that  
blended in, but they could get into much tighter places than some of his  
larger soldiers.

He straightened up to his full height, letting the strains of the fight  
slowly slide from his form until he could set his optics on their tiny new  
soldier. "Are you damaged?"

The answer that was given was not verbal, but a shake of the head before  
delicate hands rose to what he had perceived as a visor - it was, in reality,  
a helmet. The headgear came clear and both Optimus and the watching Ironhide  
let out soft sounds of surprise. Their second arrival was a femme - moreover,  
she was a human femme. What in the name of Primus was going on here?

"Designation?" he finally managed, uncertain of any other way to handle  
the situation.

She stared at him for a long moment, apparently running what he had said  
through her processors before she gave him an answer. "Alexis Star -  
designation: Autobot. Human liaison between Earth and Cybertron, and formerly  
of the United States Air Force."

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter.  
Questions? Comments?  
Sorry for the wait in this chapter, I had writer's block.  
As always, constructive criticism only.


	3. A Stranger or a Friend

Among Friends

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, Beast Wars, or any of the characters affiliated with either series. Only the Autobot Vapor is of my creation.

Chapter Three: A Stranger or A Friend?

"_**Alexis Star -designation: Autobot. Human liaison between Earth and Cybertron, and formerly of the United States Air Force."**_

She stood there amongst dumbstruck Autobots, the silence in the air growing with every second that passed. Alexis was beginning to get uncomfortable, and shifted slightly on her heels. What was wrong with them all? Didn't they remember her, or had time lost her to their memories? It couldn't be that she was so easily forgotten, especially given her role in the war up until now. Perhaps it was more like they were so surprised that she was alive after all the time she'd been away.

Alexis stepped forward, looking around at each of the gathered Autobots. "Why do you all look like someone hit you between the tailpipes with an anti tank missile?"

That seemed to shake them from their stupor, because everyone started speaking at once.

"Human liaison-"

"Not possible-"

"What the _slag_?!"

She held her small hands up where they all could see her, immediately gaining silence from the three Autobots. "One at a time please, gentlemen. I can answer your questions, but not if they're so garbled together that it is impossible to pull one out of the bunch."

Alexis listened with half an ear as they started talking between themselves in rapid paced Cybertronian. She knew the language, had learned it from being on Cybertron for so many years, but they were speaking far too quickly for her to understand what they were saying. She did catch several very colorful phrases used to describe her, most of them coming from the huge black Topkick. It was Optimus who finally spoke, and his electric blue optics bore down on her with a force that was mildly disturbing. She'd gotten that look from a few resentful Decepticons, but never from Prime.

"Explain yourself soldier." He clipped out, kneeling down so that she was almost eye level with him. His body was set solidly, tense and angled so that he could get up quickly if someone were to attack him. This wasn't the same kind of readiness he'd had before she'd left for Cybertron, this was almost scary. What had come down on them since she'd last seen them? Why were they acting as if they'd never seen her? Moreover, why did it seem like she was the enemy, when she'd come down under the Autobot mask? What happened here? What happened to the kind and trusting Optimus she'd met when she was thirteen?

"I…I don't know what you want from me. I thought I explained it pretty well when I introduced myself. I've done exactly what you've asked of me, and you are all treating me like I came down flying Decepticon colors. That's some homecoming, Optimus." She looked directly into his eyes as she spoke, her voice holding steady while she kept his gaze.

It was who she was sure was Red Alert that gave her an answer, and the voice that came from above her was completely unknown to her. "You believe what you say, young lady, but your words are false. Cybertron is lost to us, there has never been a liaison between our world and yours, and the only humans we know aided us during our recent battle with the Decepticons. Whoever has been feeding you these lies should probably be slagged. Miss Star, I am sorry to tell you this, but we neither know of you nor do we understand why you greet us with a familiarity that you shouldn't have."

She could feel the color drain from her features, knew that she was moving away from the transformers in front of her. These weren't her friends, even though they looked like them. They didn't know her, didn't trust her, and she wasn't safe with them. "Primus what have I done?" She breathed out, backing further and further away from Optimus Prime. They had to get out of here. They'd come down in the wrong place. Worse, they'd brought Predicons down to a world that was still dealing with Decepticons.

Her hand slid down the long cracked gem that hung around her neck, her eternal reminder of what she'd lost to the war. "So Vapor and I aren't safe here?"

Optimus held a hand up to soothe her, one of the many gestures she was sure remained the same between this version of the Autobot leader and the one she knew. "Please do not be frightened, Miss Star. We have no intention to harm you. We just want to understand why your memories are different from ours. You came down under the Autobot insignia, and that makes you an ally." He paused, shaking his massive head before offering her one large finger. "Let us try this again. I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots." He made a gesture towards the hummer, who stepped forward and inclined his head politely. "This is our medical officer, Ratchet." The hand extended in the Topkick's direction then. "And my weapons specialist Ironhide."

Ratchet's name was new to her, but she remembered Ironhide. The fast talking, often rebellious young soldier with the tendency to be trigger happy. The one she remembered had a thick Southern accent, not this deep rumble of sound that carried a vague Northern accent that she couldn't place for the life of her.

She shook her head, trying to make her tired brain make sense of what she was experiencing. They were the Autobots just not the Autobots that she'd grown up around. She'd been fifteen when she left Earth for Cybertron, and had spent ten years learning their ways and gaining friends among their people. Cybertron was a thriving, vibrant place, but from what they were telling her now….For them, at least, home was Earth. Cybertron was a distant memory, and she doubted they even knew who Unicron was. If they did, it was likely delegated to be the boogie man of all Cybertronian kind.

Alexis was beginning to feel a little light headed, and a greenish pulse from her necklace proved that she wasn't well. How long had it been since she'd had anything to eat, since she'd slept for more than an hour at a time?

A large hand scooped around behind her, a second one gently maneuvering her into the first before her feet left the ground. She found herself eye level with a pair of concerned blue optics, the unfamiliar face of the Autobot's chief medic showing mild annoyance and concern. He gave off a soft trilling sound at her before switching over to English. "You, little miss, are in desperate need of refueling and a decent recharge. I say we save the rest of this interrogation until after these things have been seen to."

She could hear Optimus agree, but the actual words were lost in her graying mind. Vapor slowly made his way over to her, concern making his navy colored eyes even darker. Poor Vapor, he'd tried so hard, had fought so long, only to find that the hero they'd thought they'd found was someone completely different. This wasn't their world. She wasn't even sure this was their reality. There was no telling which of her friends even existed, or if these Autobots even knew half of the people she wanted to ask about. Perhaps, once she'd recovered from the trip here, she'd ask. Painful as it was likely to be, she needed to know about the ones she'd left behind. Reports bouncing back and forth had put many of them dead, but this was her chance to finally discover the truth. A new world meant more possibilities. Even if they didn't know her, she would be happy to see some of the familiar faces that defined her young life.

* * *

(Ratchet)

He kept her held securely near his chest, his sensors letting him know that she'd gone offline while he'd been reassuring her guardian. There was much to be done if they wanted to keep this little human alive, and the longer they lingered here asking questions the less chance he'd have of getting her back in full functioning order. As a medic, it was his responsibility to see to the health and safety of anyone on his team or under the protection of the Autobots. This girl, whoever she really was, was the victim of someone's idea of a cruel joke. She deserved the truth, and he'd see to it that she was given the truth.

"While you frag heads discuss the specifics of their arrival, I am going back to base. I have a malnourished femme to see to, if you'll excuse me." He informed them all before he briefly passed her over to her guardian and transformed. He allowed Vapor to put her in the back of his vehicle form then slammed the doors and took off. If the flier wanted to follow him then that was his choice.

His focus was on the road ahead of him, thoughts of exactly what he'd need to do for the human female once they got back to base sorting through his processors. She'd need to be fed for certain, perhaps even put on an IV line to fight back against the dehydration his scanners notified him of. He'd already given her a mild sedative to help her sleep, as he imagined she'd been running on fumes for quite some time. The dark circles under her faded green optics told him that much.

She was painfully thin, this human. He'd downloaded enough medical information on humans to know what was normal and what was not. Despite the thick flight suit she'd come down in he could tell that she was at least fifteen pounds under weight, if not more. He wondered when the last time was that she'd had anything sustaining, and worriedly ran another scan to see if he'd need to start that IV line sooner than he'd anticipated.

More than her physical state, however, he worried over her emotional and mental one. There was no way she had experienced what she was hinting at before. This girl had obviously been to the pit and back again. He didn't know how she'd ended up flying with Vapor, nor why those oddly marked Decepticons had been after her, but he did know this. This stranger to their ranks was more than met the optics, more even than she realized. She very well could hold the answer many of them had been searching for years to find. Was there a way, somehow in this vast reality of theirs, to transverse between one frame of existence to another? He didn't know, but the answer would certainly answer the question as to where exactly Alexis Star belonged, and why she knew of them when they had no idea as to her identity or origin.

Well, here's another chapter.  
Sorry for the long wait.  
Hope this chapter was worth the wait.


End file.
